Of Dead Composers - An Interview with Tommaso Riccardi of Fleshgod Apocalypse

Tommaso Riccardi in an up close and personal show in Amityville, NYC

Fleshgod Apocalypse are quite easily one of my biggest interest amongst the newer Metal acts in  the world. They take the Symphonic and Orchestral aspects of Metal and push it to a whole new level, while retaining the technical part of well…Technical Death Metal. The Italian quintet have always appealed to me from the same place in my heart that enjoys the likes of Dimmu Borgir (yeah I know, here stops reading most of my oldschool readership,) Septicflesh, and Ex Deo, but their ability to infuse Death Metal in manner in which Metal doesn’t become secondary to the orchestra while really pushing the classical aspect of the music is one and unique. On the precipice of releasing the new album entitled Labyrinth, I got the chance to interview their very down to earth and striking frontman, Tommaso Riccardi, results (and suits with black face paint) follow!

Benek- Hello Tommaso! how are you? where do I catch you?

Tommaso- I’m at my house, been practicing the whole day so pretty satisfied. I’ve been doing my job (laughs.)

Benek- I know you’re soon departing on tour with Wintersun?

Tommaso- Wow, I have to say the truth I feel great, and in the mean time I feel a bit of tension, but this tour is exciting. I see the promoters and the people in the industry are very excited about it and I see there’s already good presales , we’re only a couple of months away from the tour almost so I think it’s gonna be a blast for everyone. We’re direct support and it’s the first time we get to do that in the US, although actually we did half of our last tour supporting Kataklysm in that spot . But not the whole tour, and in any case, I saw we’re playing some amazing clubs, a lot of House of Blues so I think it’s gonna be an awesome tour. I really like the bands, I’ve been following Wintersun for a while before the tour was announced, it’s good to go on tours where it’s going on school. You know? because there’s someone that can teach you the job, because there are some amazing guitar players, singers and drummer on tour so it’s great. Jari is an amazing guitarist, and it’ll be very interesting , even just sitting there and watching them play. Even some good competition.

Benek- Yeah Jari (Mäenpää) like, sits and masturbates on his guitar 7 days a week, every week, the guy like, hasn’t seen the sun in like a year. But they’re also very different from you guys, are you afraid of the different crowds? Especially seeing as Wintersun is much less heavy than you guys.

Tommaso- I think no, because there’s two things I’ve been thinking of- I’m sure, this is actually the sixth tour we’ve been doing there, we have a very good fanbase in the US and there’s going to be a lot of people coming to see Fleshgod Apocalypse as well. Also, in my opinion the crowd in the US is more open minded in a certain kind of way so I think a lot of guys that enjoy our music will enjoy Wintersun as well. On the other side as well , I think a lot of Wintersun fans will enjoy Fleshgod Apocalypse even though it’s true, we’re more brutal and really fast, but still we have an orchestra, and the songs are actually very melodic. It’s just a matter of getting used to some 280 BPM blast beats all the time .

Benek- Just that (laughs)

Tommaso- We also have some mid tempo! Material for everybody hehehe. Some…some, I mean come on, at the end of the mid tempo there’s a 300 bpm blast but that’s not a problem. Just the part. We like both sides of the fields, and you can hear it even in Agony, on the Deceit and the Egoism in parts it gets onto the groovy side. You can really find both tempos so I don’t think it’s going to be such a problem for the people, the fact we’re going fast, I hope there will be a good balance for everybody.

Benek- So, just recently it was announced that your new album Labyrinth, is complete, how do you feel about it?

Tommaso- I feel very good I have to say, I don’t want to seem too confident but I really feel very good, I can taste the difference. When we did Agony, we had a very short time to work on it, we we’re a little bit in a rush for many reasons. Different time, different situation. It was also the first time we did something like that, introducing the orchestral arrangements throughout the whole song , it was very good and we were very satisfied. We needed to get more experience on that kind of composition and more time to , I don’t want to say relax because we’re always working hard but we needed an amount of time to do whatever we wanted to do and also to experiment with whatever we wanted to experiment. So this time, it’s been different and this si why this time it is the right evolution of what we we’re doing and there’s a balance of what was missing a bit in Agony that you can feel. There’s a balance, the right moments of tension and release, an architecture that is working much better than before in my opinion. I think you can, maybe not in the first listen, but after a while anybody can see that we had a time and way to work on the detail to make everything work in a very harmonic way.


Benek- What is the concept behind the album? Is the Labyrinth the mythological story in Konossos with Minos, the minatour and circular buildings… or is it a metaphor?

Tommaso- From the point of view of the lyrics, there’s a certain chronological order but not completely to the album. The story obviously is an inspiration for a story regarding everyone. We took this story to make a metaphor, there’s some things you can recognize from the actual story of Konossos, especially the story of Theseus and the way he had to reach the Labyrinth and fight against the Minotaur. We’ve always liked to talk about human issues. So, Agony was the story of suffering that is concentrated on the way that humans can inflict pain on others just for a reflection of their own pain, this is deeper, this is about this path that everyone has to take at a certain point. It is the path of growing up , of recognizing your roots, and who you are. As you know, Theseus was the son of Aegaeous and he didn’t know in the beginning, his father left him with his mother who was not the queen, in another place. He had this child with another woman, so he was not mean tto be the son of the king. So when he found out he was this descendent of Athens, so he had to travel to reach Athens and during this travel he meets some bad people who want to kill him in many different ways and that’s a representation of the way you use wisdom to overcome obstacles. He reaches Athens and finds out his father has this curse, this curse of sending 7 boys and 7 girls to be sacrificed to the minotaur as a war pledge, for the fact he lost the war against Crete. But the important thing to me, is that every character in this story represents a side of this search for ourselves in many ways, and the many ways people hide from themselves . The character of Minos is the character of a father who wants to hide his guilt, he was guilty of the fact that he didn’t sacrifice the white bull for Poseidon, and exchanging it for one of his own. He was meant to sacrifice it as a token of gratitude for his dominion of the sea. The Mediterenean. So the god Poseidon made his wife fall in love with this bull, and together they made the minotaur. On the other hand is the positive figure of Theseus , because he discovers he is the son of Aegeous and he wants to take the responsibility of fighting this war his father lost, then going to the Labyrinth and fighting this minotaur which represents the biggest fear of everyone, being oneself and doing what your heart says. The last thing, which is different from the concept of Agony, is that in this concept I really liked to introduce another thing which is the importance of others, of being helped by others and the importance of relationships with others, especially men and women. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos she helps Theseus with this golden thread that can show him the way back from the Labyrinth and you fight against the minotaur, you might kill him but you won’t get back without help. This is very important because this represents that we need the help of others, and that sometimes we escape the help of others because sometimes we’re afraid to seem weaker but being stronger even goes through the ability to accept that sometimes you need to be together with others. Sometimes people are afraid of love, which is the most important thing. In any case and in anything, even playing music or doing your job, even putting out your hunger and making it something positive is using love, in your life and what you do. It’s very important because otherwise we risk leaving the minotaur in the labyrinth forever.


Benek- How did you build upon the existing Fleshgod Apocalypse formula? How does this album innovate?


Tommaso- When you said “Agony, Mafia, Oracles” I realized their so different from one another, but even there, for me personally I could recognize the Fleshgod imprint. This time, I would say it’s the same thing, because you always have the Fleshgod stlye and recognize it, but like every time we try to evolve this music because otherwise it’d be boring. We could never accept to just go there and be like “ok lets do another Agony.” No, that’s not our way of thinking, we go through an evolution that includes our experiences,our lives, and music, we listen to a lot of music and Metal isn’t the only genre that grows with us. We listen to a lot of things, but we’re really deep inside every kind of music that we like, there’s only 2 real kinds of music- good music and bad music. Everybody knows that, but I just want to say it again. We try to update and listen, try to understand the mechanisms behind the music. Of course in this case, we are finding our style and you can hear it. Since Agony, when we introduced the Orchestra and everything we obviously defined something we haven’t previously, even this time there’s a lot of surprises in my opinion. Because, this album has at least 2 or 3 songs considered even an experiment because their very particular in their way , because their very different in their way but on the other hand the classic elements of Flashgod Apocalypse makes you instantly recognize them. Also, there is a technical and composing evolution of course, because, in Agony there were many things we already knew we wanted to evolve and change in some way after a little while. You’re always, if you stop criticizing yourself you’re done. We always look back at the past and say “ we could fix this, do this better” and we tried really to make an album that is a whole story with its balance. You got that even in Agony but it worked better this time, the balance is very good and the right amounts and positioning of tension and release so it’s more mature . Even on the production side, there’s has been an upgrade we started from what we learned during Agony and in the meantime, Stefano our producer, worked on different projects and even on Orchestral music where he knew he was going to use this later when we were in the studio. I really hope people will like it, but I’m really confident because I know people will like it.






Benek- So, Agony is the album, alongside the Mafia EP, that brought the band into the spotlight. You’re about to finish the cycle with Agony, what does that album represent for you?

Tommaso- Agony obviously represents something very important. I can comfortably say that it’s a turning point in our short history. The band is pretty young. It’s been important because as I was saying, Agony represents something that led Fleshgod into the beginning of our style, of course Oracles and Mafia are important and you can catch the roots. But Agony is a big step, it was the first time we were using a piano and an orchestra throughout the whole songs, but it’s the beginning of a new Fleshgod story. But on the other hand it’s been very important for the industry, because it’s been the first album with Nuclear Blast and our first big exposure, we also did an extensive tour on the road for promotion so it’s been a very important change because it gave us the chance to travel a lot and to convince people that what we do is good . We’re really always concentrated on this job, this is the good thing with doing something that you like, on one hand it’s beautiful because you’re doing what you like but on the other hand it absorbs you completely. Like I cannot say there’s one moment, not even when I’m sleeping that I’m not working in some ways. This is what is Agony, a new beginning in some way and it’s good we’re continuing on that route and I’m really confident in this new album and really think in some way this will be another turning point for us. They always say the third one is very important, we have to promote this one very well, and stand the test of time with what we’re doing .



Benek- Was it hard to make this album? Knowing all the stakes have risen since Agony?

Tommaso- Well, I mean , I can say we have to speak in third person because as you know, the composition of the music is mainly in the hands of Francesco Paoli and Francesco Ferrini, they take care of the music and the arrangements. Then we work all together in the studio with the lyrics and the arrangements while recording. We always change in the studio as we realize something can work better like this or like that. But obviously our main composition process is in their hands, the good thing is Francesco Paoli is a very self-conscience and determined person, this is good when you have to do these kinds of things. Of course there is pressure, and there has also been in the beginning of this process, but Francesco is really natural and writing and arranging music is something that really is his main skill. When you see him work on songs you can see after a little while, there’s some self-confidence that takes over and he’s so in love with the music that it’s like a waterfall, it starts then it’s unstoppable and it’s beautiful. Because I think the one ability a person who writes music needs to have, and same thing for Francesco is that you need to be like a kid, you need to be very focused and have the theoretical knowledge, but you also need to be like a child: let your imagination grow. I know there’ll be one moment in which maybe inspiration won’t be the same or whatever but I also think that that happens most of the time because people decide to fix in one thing and never evolve. If you let yourself get into an evolution I think music is like growing up, if you change it’ll change with you, and if you don’t betray the music, it will not betray you. So, I ‘ve really seen that during this process and even in the part I was involved, fear has been smaller than pride. We were just convinced that we could do better and I really think we did better.



Benek- Lets go back a bit, how did the band start?

Tommaso- To me it’s interesting actually, because it’s a cool story. I joined the band right before Mafia, and the story is pretty particular- because, first of all- some of the guys in the band are my friends since a long time for example- Paolo, the bassist I know since we were three years old. We were in primary school together, and I know him 27 years. We played in other bands before together, and at some point he joined Francesco Paoli, who was playing in another band called T.E.R , doing this kind of classical brutal Death Metal around 2005. They were playing with other guys and at some point the band split up and Francesco Paoli had this idea of putting up this new project with Paolo. At that point they contacted this guitarist Cristiano (Trionfera) who was from Rome while we all lived in Peruggia alongside the first drummer from Fleshgod, Francesco Struglia and they recorded a promo with the first two songs, Embodied Deception and Infection of the White Throne that we re recorded for Oracles. Until 2008/2009 they played just a few shows, and Francesco was singing and playing guitar. He was also singing for Hour of Penance at the same time, they’re doing very well and we’re still good friends with those guys. He started as a guitarist and a singer, but after a little while, right after Oracles, there were lineup problems and Francesco struggled to find a replacement for Struglia (God how many Francesco’s! –Benek.) In the meantime, Francesco (Paoli) and I were working on some music together for fun. At a certain point his problems with the lineup were continuing and as I said, Francesco is a particular and determined person, so he started studying drums after asking me to join the band. So, I know it sounds crazy, because he never played drums before, so he started drumming four months and a half before the first show. We’re talking about playing one of the fastest musical styles in the world, so to me and in everybody’s collective opinions, it was a crazy decision. I hate the fact people were pointing fingers and were saying, “ahhh you’re stupid!” because now it’s been four years and I love the fact he’s considered a kickass Metal drummer. He shows what determination and love for something can do, he just started playing 8 hours a day and his only focus was “we have to play these shows.” We booked the shows when he still learned how to keep drumsticks in his hands, and he said, “We have to book these shows, because we need to have a reason for me to make it.” I remember this scene, after a few weeks, we came back home and his girlfriend was undressing him before going to bed because he couldn’t move his arms. The pain was so terrible, but we still rehearsed every day, and I have to say this , I never had the experience of singing in growl not even without playing the guitar before that. We had a short passage where I was playing guitar but not singing in the beginning because our bassist was singing in the beginning. I was just getting into the band so there were some things to fix, but actually when I was supposed to start singing and playing it was a couple of weeks before the European tour with Vader. So I have a similar experience to Francesco as I had to learn to be a frontman in two weeks. We exposed ourselves in a bad way for some time, because when we started playing we weren’t what you’d call tight, because everyone found himself in a different position and it was very difficult. But we tried not to think of it too much and practice 7 days a week , and you know just focusing on what we were doing , it’s cool to know and feel that we will be getting better forever if we keep thinking like this. In the mean time I know we’ve earned a lot of points and when we play a show there’s a good energy in the show because we really suffered a lot to do this, we had to do crazy things. Practice 7 days a week, not sleep the whole night and do a couple of car, not van, tours through the US. Like driving 3,500 miles in 52 hours, it’s good things to remember, I’ll have something to tell my nephews when I’m older. Now, here we are. Obviously when we started working on Agony, and the last component joined the band, Francesco Ferrini, the pianist, although he worked with us before on some tracks in Oracles and Mafia. When we got him in the line up, we thought “how can the shows work now?” and thinking about, but he actually started being one of the most important parts of the show and his character is very cool. I found out he’s a very good actor too, I really like the way he’s on the stage and the way he moves with the piano. We’re very satisfied with the way the lineup works now.

Benek- The story is incredible in itself, but you know, Italy isn’t a perfect starting place for a Death Metal band. How do you feel about the Italian scene, especially when you started in comparison to now? Any bands you’d like to recommend?

Tommaso- I would like to start this one, using a sentence I put in one song in Labyrinth, my favorite quote on the whole album- “fall is the source of my victory, as there’s no force without a fight.” This is what I mean when I talk about the fact we come from Italy. We’re not from some Scandinavian place, and of course it’s harder, because in Italy you can’t say there is a real scene. I’m not talking shit about the bands that play in Italy; I have a lot of respect for them just because this is the situation. The situation is this because unfortunately, Italy is a very beautiful place but the inhabitants of this place are a little bit strange. Because we have this instincts of fucking the other to obtain something. I really consider myself very lucky, and I know the guys in the band do too, because we don’t think like this. This is also why unfortunately we’re forced to play outside the country. Here, there’s a lot of situations like promoters asking for money of some kids bands that don’t know how shit works to play the show that will “change their lives” and all this kind of shit. This way of thinking, it’s small things but big things, even in the fact they’re not investing properly in the treatments of the bands when they come. You’re in Italy and you should show we have the best cuisine in the whole world and you’re not showing it because you want to save the 20 euros, this is not the way to do things. If you don’t invest in things, they don’t grow, and what goes around comes around. This is the truth, and we can see it because we invested a lot. I’m not just speaking of tons of money, we’re putting all the money, at least most of it into what we do. To improve production, writing, the stage, we want to bring the fucking theater around the world and we’re not saving one cent if not for investing. That’s the reason there’s no real scene in Italy, because the mentality is really bad. It’s very hard to come out of these situations, but on the other hand coming out from a place that is very difficult is very stimulating. You know, hard times bring good things so you can get depressed in this situation, or come out and have the energy to destroy. I think this is the mood of Fleshgod Apocalypse since the beginning. This is what b rings the energy, I can see it as I am the frontman, I look people straight in the eyes and know what they feel, and what I feel and I know I can transfer this energy and this anger. This is our job, to communicate something throughout the show what we are. In my opinion, this thing of Fleshgod Apocalypse started inspiring some people in this country, and I’m honored by this because you can’t imagine, I was just a kid with other guys who wanted to go onstage and kick ass. To me it’s a beauty, I wake up in the morning and put my hands on the guitar because I know it’s my duty to bring this to people who made it possible. I see bands who make it because they say “ we can do it!” Of course it’s sad some people fall into the trap of jealousy, especially here but you can’t help it. I don’t get upset about it, but I just get sad people say certain things. There’s all kinds of rumors around the band but I’ll say it again because It’s just really sad. When people behave like that something is wrong with their heart and desires, their inability to focus on what they really want. Last thing I wanna say, I’m really happy to see is that our friends in Hour of Penance are becoming big, even though they were big before us and it’s wonderful to see them grow up.


Benek- How did you grow as an artist from the early days?

Tommaso- Now maybe I’m starting to make the first steps, to one day be considered an artist. Because, being an artist is a big thing. On one hand, it’s something you have inside from the first day so I’m a somewhat an artist. It’s the way to lead your existence. Being an artist is based on your roots, your existence, your sufferings and your past. It’s very good to know the beginning of the experience with Fleshgod was, I was beginning another kind of path, the path to become a man. It’s made of many, many different elements so the responsibility of following your heart and this is what I am so fuck all the others. Not in a bad way, but I just mean saying what you feel and doing what you feel, because you believe in yourself. Sometimes it’s very painful to reach this knowledge of myself, and now it’s happening, this path has been helped a lot by the experience with Fleshgod. I met people who have a common passion, some of the guys in the band who made steps before me, and we taught each other many things like a family. Now, I can say I’m setting the artist inside myself free. That’s what makes you feel you can jump on the stage, and after many years you feel you can just let yourself go, and it all works if you do that.


Benek- What inspires you to write? Lyrics in particular, but also music, what are some things you take in before writing a song?


Tommaso- You know, for which regards the music, I really am one of those guys who listens to many different kinds of music and I have to say it’s cool, because it’s a very strange way to transform things you just take things in and let them out in a different form. For some strange reason, when I’m onstage I feel sometimes I’m more inspired by some Rock and Grunge singers like Kurt Cobain or even of the present. I really love Grunge rock music; I’m a really big fan of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. I bring a big piece of that kind of music when I go onstage. Even if I am doing a different kind of things, that’s what I bring onstage and it makes my onstage personality. Obviously I go crazy every time I get to see Cannibal Corpse or Behemoth play live. What maybe is my trademark though is that I really love Rock music in many different forms, and I bring this with me even in the lyrics. I take inspiration and write the lyrics together with Paolo. We’re complementary to each other and take inspiration mainly with ourselves. Lyrics are something that even if you speaking of something else you put yourself into that, the experiences in my life are the main inspiration for the lyrics. But one of my greatest inspirations , even if you can’t get it directly are Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell.

Benek- Does it present challenges in a live setting, to bring the whole grandiose and bigger-than-life sound of the albums to a stage?


Tommaso- Of course, of course it does as there are two points about this. The mix, the sound in the stage, when we speak to the sound guys we have to arrange things that are not very usual. Since a couple of years, we’re always traveling with our sixth element that is Francesco Zaki (how many Francesco’s?!), he’s an important part of the whole circus. He has the duty of bringing our sound out every night, and that’s very hard, mixing our distorted guitars with the bass, the drums, and the orchestra plus the piano. But also it’s something that makes a sort of imposition on the way you have to play on the shows. Obviously we always have the click, so we play the same speed as on the album all the time and we are referring to something that is there. So you can’t lose even one BPM so it’d be a problem, then the orchestra won’t be on time with the music so you have to practice and be precise. That’s first of all a challenge for Francesco Paoli, who needs to follow the same beat. He can’t say “I’ll go slower because I’m tired” he has to play the album every night. It’s something we got used to , it’s our way to bring the show live. At this point we couldn’t do without it, now we feel comfortable with that but for many technical reasons it gets very complicated when you have very quick changeovers, especially in festivals. We had to learn how to be very fast, and just go out and bam, play .


Benek- Also, your stage clothes is very different from most bands, I was going to say Corpsepaint but obviously such is not the case. What does the black paint signify? I’m guessing the suit and tie reflects a relation to classical music?

Tommaso- Well, the idea is something we are doing some modifications to, in the look to make it even more realistic. The idea is that we’ve got these suits, that we’re kind of musicians and composers from the 17th century, so in some ways we’re supposed to be kind of dead. When you see the video of the Violation, you get it from the story even if it’s not so explicit. It’s kind of metaphor, once I’ve seen an interview with Abbath from Immortal, he said the face paint is a way to represent their inner demons on the inside. The blood on the suits and the black on the face is to represent in a visual way, this mixture of our music. The classic bombastic element and the idea of violence, of Death Metal, of Speed of something that is melodic but rotten. I think it’s the best way to express it, trying to bring a very violent version of classical music and musicians.


Benek- are there plans for future videos?

Tommaso- Yeah of course, we’re working on the times to do it because now we have a long recording session, with a tour in the middle. Now we’re mainly practicing on the playing of new songs live, so we’re trying to take our time to concentrate on the most urgent cause. But of course, we already have the idea and more or less how we wanna do it. I think it won’t be a long time, we will try to put it out as soon as we can. We would’ve liked to do it right now, and put it out before the tour, but I don’t know if that’s going to be possible. We’re trying to see how, and when we can do it. But we have an idea for the new video and I’m sure during the promotion of the album we’re going to shoot at least a few videos. You will imagine when you listen to the album which song it’ll be , but for now I want to keep it as a surprise.

Benek- Top 5 influences, musically! Go go go…

Tommaso- You want just 5? Or the order? Because if I’ll have to decide the order I’ll have to be here till midnight…
1. The whole Italian pop music scene and Rock scene of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, I really think that we had very important composers and a rich music scene growing up. Like Luccio Dala, Francesco Di Gregori, Rennato Zzero,and Fabrizio di Andrea.
2. The Beatles
3. Cannibal Corpse
4. Beethoven and Mozart , and guys like Rachmaninoff
5. John Williams


Benek- When can we expect to hear some of the material from Labyrinth?

Tommaso- we’re still working on it so I actually don’t know precisely. At this moment we’re into a storm, as everything is happening now. As soon as the master of the album is ready, there are so many things going on and each one of us take care of some of the aspects. We’re exchanging thousands of emails with managers, transportations and everything, but I know that we’re going to put out a single before the tour so people will have the time to listen to it. I hope there’ll be a way to put a streaming of the album, but I can’t say for sure. Perhaps a single or a lyric video during July.


Benek- Any last words to the Israeli crowd?

Tommaso - What can I say? I’d like to say this one, I don’t wanna seem pretentious but I really think it in general: I always say, support the good music. Doesn’t matter which kind or which genre, just support the good music. You can really recognize that there’s good and bad music, so support it so it can grow. And obviously, straight from the heart, thank you! For believing in us, and we believe in people who are supporting this band, and there’s one promise I want to make- we will always give the maximum we have, and the day we will not be able to do this, we will quit. So just remember until we cease existing, we will just give everything as it’s just in our character. So don’t worry, Fleshgod is always at work to do something better.